Wavering Certainty
by Terron145
Summary: Upon discovering an additional weapon amongst her belongings in the army's convoy, Selena sets out to have a word with the army's tactician, who she suspects would know the specifics of this potential mistake. (One-shot)
_Author's Notes : Part of me is baffled and disappointed that there is no in-game Support Conversation between Selena and Charlotte._

 **Wavering Certainty**

On this evening, Selena finds herself walking towards the living quarters of the army's tactician. In her hands is a sheathed sword, one that she can't seem to divert her focus from. Having reached the door, she gives a few raps with her knuckles before taking a step back. She is answered, though not with a voice; the door slowly swings open before a head topped with flowing blonde hair peeks out to scan the area with pale blue eyes. These eyes eventually fall upon Selena, who gives a small wave in greeting. She is beckoned beyond the door, a call she heeds.

Stepping inside, she comes to realize that Cyrus is not present. The only one here is Charlotte, who she almost failed to recognize due to her hair currently missing her signature white bow. The woman is also wearing her night clothes, which curiously cover more skin than her combat attire.

"What brings you here so late, Selena?" Looking to her ally's hands, Charlotte takes note of the sword in Selena's grip. She then lets out a wolf whistle, smirking as she points at the weapon. "Now that's a nice-looking sword; how much did you have to shell out for it?"

Selena's confused expression is not the reaction Charlotte expected to see. Unsheathing the sword from its scabbard, she shows that what she holds is a sword comprised of high-quality steel. "The thing is…I didn't pay a single gold piece for this; when I was checking our inventory in the Convoy, I found this with my stuff." She sheathes the sword before looking around the room again. "I thought I'd report this in to the Chief to see if he knew anything about it, but he's not here." She clicks her tongue in frustration, folding her arms as she shoots a rather perturbed expression at Charlotte. "Doesn't your idiot husband know when to take a break?"

A scoff is Charlotte's initial response, to which Selena lets out a huff in kind. "You already know the answer to that one; Cyrus is even worse than Lord Corrin. Tonight's a bit different, though."

"How do you mean?"

"Cyrus is out because he was having trouble sleeping, not because he needs to satisfy his workaholic rush." She dons a look of concern upon finishing, though she tries to look away in order to hide this from Selena. "I can't say I'm not worried, considering he took both of his swords with him on the way out."

"And you didn't follow him?" Charlotte shakes her head in response, to which Selena asks, "Why?"

"Cyrus and I have been through a lot together, so I know when he needs some time to himself. He respects my privacy when I need it, so it's only fair that I do the same for him." She then dons a wicked smirk, causing Selena to subtly take a step back in caution. "Now, if I were to point someone his way and they happen to share with me what they know, then I technically can't be held accountable for invasion, right?"

"OK, look, we both know you're only doing this to get back at him." Selena dons a smirk of her own, leaning forward to get in Charlotte's face. "Worse still, you can't even prove the Chief was the one behind Silas showing concern for you. Silas worries about everybody."

"The timing was too perfect, and my beloved jumped onto the matter almost immediately after I confessed my strife to Sir Silas. It couldn't be anything but espionage." She folds her arms, taking a step back from Selena as her lips contort into a pout. "Do you want directions or not?"

"Yeah, yeah, fork 'em over you sourpuss."

A scoff escapes Charlotte upon hearing that. "Such cheek, coming from you!" She turns her head away as she lets out a huff. "You can find him near the water's edge; he always goes there on clear nights like this." Selena nods to this, smiling as she approaches the door and opens it. Before she can depart, Charlotte takes a step forward and asks, "Take care of him, alright?"

Donning a devilish smirk, Selena takes a single step out of the door before replying, "That'll cost you extra."

"You dare charge me?!" Charlotte takes the bait and lunges at Selena, who hops back before performing a back flip to clear the railing just beyond the door. Charlotte rests her hands on this railing, deftly avoiding a wedding wherein her face is joined with the floor. Regaining her balance, she is vexed to see that Selena has gained far too much distance for her to give chase. She waves her fist in annoyance, remarking, "Next time you won't be so lucky!"

A short search leads Selena to the western edge of the Ebon Roost. Here she finds a lone figure staring up at the moon. This figure takes a seat, stabbing the sword held in his hand into the ground next to him. A sigh of exhaustion escapes the man, disrupting the silence of the night. Selena disrupts the peace further by continuing her approach. The crunching of her boots against the now cold and crisp grass is accompanied by the soft rippling of the ocean. She takes a seat next to Cyrus, nudging his shoulder as if to make sure he isn't asleep.

"I was looking for you, Chief; how dare you not be in your room as I expected."

Cyrus can't help but snicker at this. "Seriously? You're getting cross with me over not being in my room when you're the one searching for me when you should be sleeping? The audacity of it all."

She pokes him in the cheek, a telling frown forming her countenance. "Don't try to turn this around, buster; everyone knows you're ignorant of rest, so it's perfectly reasonable to expect you to be up at this hour."

"What if you had disturbed Charlotte?"

"Oh please, it takes nothing short of an earthquake to wake her up."

Cyrus cringes at this. "You don't mince the truth, do you? Well, how may I assist you?"

Removing the sword from her hip, Selena shows the weapon to Cyrus and says, "I found this with my inventory when I was checking the Convoy; you know where this came from?"

He nods, pointing to the weapon as he says, "I placed it there myself; is something amiss?"

"Wait, you gave me this sword? How much did it cost you?"

"I made it myself, so the only things I lost were time and base materials…why does that matter?"

"Oh, right, I had forgotten that you work as a blacksmith back in your own world. Now that I think about it, you're a goldsmith too, right?" Cyrus nods, to which Selena asks, "Have you been making everyone's weapons?"

"No. I lack the knowledge of how to forge the 'Killer' weapons, so I have to spend some of our funds on those. This will change in time." His face shifts to show a look of concern as he asks, "Is the weapon not to your liking?"

"Eh? The sword's fine; I was just making sure a mistake wasn't made…thanks, I guess." She smirks again, this time commenting, "Perhaps I should reward you by taking you shopping with me."

"And allow me to serve as your personal pack mule? Milady, I am undeserving of your kindness."

"Yeah, don't I know it?" The two share a laugh at this before Selena gets a good look at Cyrus' face. Before, her eyes had yet to adjust to the dusk of the evening, but she could now clearly see that Cyrus' eyes were somewhat puffy, as well as red. "Chief…have you been crying?" Cyrus' surprised expression, as well as his immediate response of turning his head, tells Selena everything she needs to know. "You have." She sighs, delivering a light punch to his left shoulder before saying, "You already know I'm not leaving until I figure out the issue, so we might as well skip the part where you try to weasel your way out of this."

"Can we not and say we did?" Selena's cold glare provides his answer, causing the man to let out a sigh. "My mind has been stuck on thoughts about home as of late…those thoughts aren't exactly good, either." He looks up to the moon as he rests his hand on his knee. A somber expression commands his countenance now, with the sadness in his eyes growing with each passing second. "Back home, I have nightmares every night about the people I've killed. I've had to cast a specific spell to ease my mind so that it may find proper rest. Recently, those same nightmares have caught up with me in this world."

"So you came out here for some fresh air?"

He nods, a wry smile tracing on his lips. "Aye. I'll have to talk with Odin and Nyx about devising a spell similar to the one I use at home." He sighs again, lightly clutching at his hair as he looks towards the grass between his feet. "Sometimes I wish I could be indifferent to the horrible things I've done; maybe then I wouldn't feel this much regret." An awkward silence passes before he elects to apologize. "I'm sorry; this isn't something you should feel obligated to listen to."

"I'm still here, aren't I? It's fine." She averts her eyes, instead shifting their focus to the blades of grass below. "I know what it's like to live with regrets; I've said some things I can't take back anymore." A pained expression forms on her face; "I never got to apologize." She then looks to Cyrus, albeit still uncertain if she has the right to say these words to him. "That feeling of regret is important, Chief; it means you aren't a lost cause. You can't undo your mistakes, but you can learn from them."

"I have to wonder what I was meant to learn from having to kill my former friend." Selena's pained expression turns to one of mild shock. In turn, Cyrus' deepens in its sorrow. "He betrayed all of us to side with the empire during the war, having been supplying them with intelligence and resources from the beginning. I…called that man my brother once. It was bad enough losing my family when I was a powerless child, but there was a twisted sense of irony in me slaying Nagato after I thought I had progressed so far." A single tear trails down the left side of his face, which he doesn't bother to hide or wipe away. Curiously, he clutches at what remains of his left arm as he says, "I'm still searching for the meaning, even now."

"War changes people, Chief; you know that as well as I do. Is this guy…also the reason you don't have your left arm anymore?"

"I guess I could have been less obvious about it just now, huh? This is my lasting reminder of how horribly things went." He rises to his feet, offering his hand to help Selena to her own. He lingers for a moment, holding her hand as he stares at the swaying grass. He then looks her in the eyes, a certain air of resolve having fixed itself into his gaze. "I worry that I won't find the meaning behind this loss; that I'll lose sight of why I'm here in the first place. However, I feel that, in meeting new comrades like you, I progressively take more steps in the right direction." He gives her hand a firm shake as he follows, "You have my gratitude, Selena."

The warm yet distant smile Cyrus wears brings a smile to Selena's face in turn. She turns this smile into a smirk, replying, "As I should; you're lucky to have me as a friend, you know."

He chuckles at this, nodding as he says, "Truly, your kindness knows no bounds."

"I'll never get tired of hearing that…you're going to head back, right? Charlotte's worried."

He nods before releasing Selena's hand; he then takes hold of the Hastebrand and returns it to its scabbard. Taking one last look at the moon, he smiles softly and says, "I think I'll be alright tonight; I'll have to apologize to Charlotte as well." Turning to Selena, he performs a half-bow before saying, "I thank you once more for your time tonight, Selena; I bid you a good evening."

She gives him no verbal response, instead smiling as she watches him walk away. Before he's too far gone, she calls out to him; "Don't forget; you can't back out of our shopping trip!"

He looks back to her, a grin on his face as he replies, "I dare not dream of it."


End file.
